From the great and ancient cultures of Asia comes this fascinating collection of great prose, drama, poetry and scripture. Translated by scholars well versed in the original languages, the contents range from selections from the holy books of the Confucian, Taoist, Hindu, Buddhist and Islamic religions to a story from The Thousand and One Nights and verses from the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Arranged geographically and chronologically.

ARABIA: from the Moallakat -- from the Koran -- from the Meditations of Ma'arri -- from The thousand and one nights; IRAN (Persia): from the Shahnamah of Firdausi -- The rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam -- from the Gulistan of Sadi -- from the Mathnawi of Rumi -- from the Divani Shansi Tabriz of Rumi -- from the Divan of Hafiz; INDIA: from the Mahabharata -- from the Bhagavad Gita -- from the Dhammapada -- from the Panchatantra -- Shakuntala by Kalidasa -- Gita Govinda [abridged] by Jayadeva; CHINA: from the Analects of Confucius -- from the Tao Teh Ching -- From the Chinese poets -- The judicial murder of Tsui Ning; JAPAN: from the Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki Shikibu -- From the Japanese poets -- Atsumori by Seami.